WKMG, 10/17/05 - A special panel will meet in Volusia County Monday to begin deliberations about a book assigned to students that at least one woman calls pornography.

In August, the mother of an 11th-grade student in Deland, Vikki Reed, said a 1992 novel, "Cracking India" by Bapsi Sihwal, given to her daughter to read by a Deland High School teacher is not suitable for students and should be banned.

The novel details historic events in India in the 1940s through the eyes of a young girl.

However, Reed said it discusses oral sex and should not be assigned to students.

"The real issue is a 9-year-old girl having or being introduced to oral sex by her cousin who is going through puberty," Reed said. "To me, that is totally inappropriate. I don't know where learning about India would involve learning about oral sex."

Reed's complaint is based on four pages of the 289-page book.

"I was appalled and, to be honest with you, I was a little amazed because my daughter has been in school for 11 years now and I never thought I needed to go through and censor what she is reading," Vikki Reed said.

The special committee made up of teachers, administrators and community members are expected to make a final decision on the book by Nov. 3.

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